The robot will see you now: Dubai hospital launches new smart pharmacy

A robot now dispenses up to nine prescriptions a minute at Latifa Hospital

The Dubai Health Authority inaugurated on Monday a smart pharmacy with a robot for dispensing and prescribing medication in Latifa Hospital. Courtesy Latifa Hospital 
Powered by automated translation

Patients at Dubai’s Latifa Hospital can now receive their prescriptions from a robot.

The system was launched on Monday with the robot able to store up to 35,000 different medicines and dispense around nine prescriptions in under one minute.

The robot dispenses the prescribed medication with a click of a button based on a barcode, which reduces the risk of human error.

__________________

Read more:

The UAE is preparing its citizens to thrive in a future dominated by artificial intelligence

Android tablets just the medicine for Dubai's smart hospitals

First UAE robotic surgery performed on hysterectomy patient in Abu Dhabi

__________________

The smart pharmacy was inaugurated by Humaid Al Qatami, director general of Dubai Health Authority.

“Adopting a fully integrated smart system for pharmaceutical transactions in DHA hospitals and health centres reduces the chance of mistakes when dispensing medication and reduces waiting time, hence achieving customer satisfaction,” he said.

“The robot dispensing process will be paper-free as the robot will store the prescription electronically.”

He said that allowing the robot to dispense the medication would allow the pharmacist to focus on giving customers the correct advice.

DHA launched two smart pharmacies at Rashid Hospital and one in Dubai Hospital this year.

__________________

Get stories like this on in your inbox each morning. Sign up for our daily newsletter here